Yemeni authorities have foiled an attack on the oil refinery in Aden and arrested 27 suspected al-Qaeda militants linked to the operation, Agence France-Presse reported police as saying on Monday, Al Arabiya reported.
Security forces in the southern port city foiled "a terrorist attack by members of Al-Qaeda," at dawn Saturday said Aden police deputy commissioner Najeeb al-Mughalas in a statement published on the defense ministry website, 26sep.net.
Al-Mughalas said police and army units captured six gunmen who were headed for the refinery in a car, before making other arrests.
"In total, 27 terrorists were arrested, including some leaders of the Qaeda network," he added.
Mughalas declined to give details on the attack when asked by AFP, saying only that "the operation was in the preparation phase" when it was thwarted.
The attempted strike was the latest in a series of attacks targeting security forces and vital installations, including oil pipelines, in a country grappling with a thorny political transition into a federation, AFP reported.